This book contains original studies on civic action and
socio-political behaviour in contemporary Africa, ranging
from young entrepreneurship in traditional medicine and
confidence trickster practices to (in)formal labour
relations and the problems of democratization and electoral
authoritarianism. This collective volume thus connects to
themes that are predominant in the work of Dr. Piet Konings,
a sociologist of development and Africanist who had a
distinguished research career at the African Studies Centre
in Leiden (1978 - 2008) and made major contributions to
Ghana Studies and Cameroon Studies. The chapters address
various forms and mutations of contemporary civic action in
the political, economic and social domains of African
societies, all based on original field research and
revealing unexpected dimensions of African socio-political
life. The key themes discussed by Piet Konings in his own
work, such as labour relations, trade union activities,
African development and the impacts of `neo-liberalism',
educational systems and policies, political and social
history, the politics of identity, ethno-regionalism,
religious phenomena, and last but not least civil society
and civic movements, are reflected in the studies presented
here. These themes prove to be of undiminished relevance in
Africa today, in the light of the rapid economic
developments since the early 2000s, persistent social
contestation, and new forms of political claim-making which
illustrate the as yet unresolved problems of state
performance and collective political identities.

J. Abbink works as a senior researcher at the
African Studies Centre, Leiden, and is a research professor
of African Studies at the VU University, Amsterdam.